|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The Journalists' Guide to the American Dream
|
Air Pollution References & Experts
Clean Air through Transportation: Challenges in Meeting National Air Quality Standards, published jointly by the EPA and US Department of Transportation in 1993, compared the effectiveness of various ways to reduce air pollution through transportation planning. The report found that transit improvements produced " relatively low emission benefits." Instead, "the market-based mechanisms (smog fees, congestion pricing, gas taxes and increased parking charges) showed the greatest air quality." (If the above link is not readable, click here to download a Word version of the report. This version is missing some of the tables and graphics, and its pagination does not match its table of contents.) Short of market-based mechanisms, one of the most effective ways to reduce air pollution is traffic-signal synchronization. Signal improvements cost little, yet they can translate into much more free-flowing traffic and therefore much less air pollution. The report cited a study in Los Angeles that found that signal improvements could improve air quality more than building 300 miles of rail transit. Experts on air pollution include Joel Schwartz (Reason Public Policy Institute) and John Charles (Cascade Policy Institute). |
 |